Signs of an improving economy faint

Published: Monday, September 9, 2013 at 02:00 PM.

There are signs that the economy and the job market are slowly but deliberately moving forward. The most recent statistics show some improvement, and, according to the U.S. Labor Department, unemployment claims are near their lowest point since 2007.

Even in North Carolina there is some good news, although the state continues to suffer one of the highest jobless rates in the nation. Alamance County has been in a kind of jobs limbo for more than five years so it’s hard to see much statistical improvement.

To be sure, any improvement is a soft one. While businesses are apparently hiring again, most of the jobs created since the recession have been in low-wage jobs, and many workers who lost jobs during the recession were in much higher-paying fields such as manufacturing, finance, information and management. Hence, even if they have found employment, chances are they are still much worse off than before the recession hit. Many companies are shifting from full-time employees to a fleet of part-timers to avoid the costs of benefits like health insurance.

That trend is true nationally as well as in North Carolina. And if it continues, it does not bode well for our economic future. USA Today reported that 60 percent of the jobs added nationally in July were in four sectors that historically pay low wages — retail, restaurants, home health care and temporary staffing jobs.

In North Carolina, the leisure and hospitality services sector led the way in jobs created since the recession. That category includes jobs in restaurants, bars, hotels, theaters, museums and other attractions. Jobs in hotels, restaurants and the like are important to the health of our economy and are closely related to the tourism industry, which in turn helps support those and other businesses. But they do not pay wages comparable with skilled vocational and career-oriented fields that provide a solid middle-class living.

Two other fast-growing sectors, transportation and professional services, pay much better, but jobs are fewer in number than those in low-skill service jobs.

In addition, many people who finally found work after losing their jobs because of the economy have had to take jobs that pay far less than their previous work. That means many are worse off than before, and their spending habits will reflect that. There are still three unemployed North Carolinians for every available job, and in many cases the skill sets do not match.

There are signs that the economy and the job market are slowly but deliberately moving forward. The most recent statistics show some improvement, and, according to the U.S. Labor Department, unemployment claims are near their lowest point since 2007.

Even in North Carolina there is some good news, although the state continues to suffer one of the highest jobless rates in the nation. Alamance County has been in a kind of jobs limbo for more than five years so it’s hard to see much statistical improvement.

To be sure, any improvement is a soft one. While businesses are apparently hiring again, most of the jobs created since the recession have been in low-wage jobs, and many workers who lost jobs during the recession were in much higher-paying fields such as manufacturing, finance, information and management. Hence, even if they have found employment, chances are they are still much worse off than before the recession hit. Many companies are shifting from full-time employees to a fleet of part-timers to avoid the costs of benefits like health insurance.

That trend is true nationally as well as in North Carolina. And if it continues, it does not bode well for our economic future. USA Today reported that 60 percent of the jobs added nationally in July were in four sectors that historically pay low wages — retail, restaurants, home health care and temporary staffing jobs.

In North Carolina, the leisure and hospitality services sector led the way in jobs created since the recession. That category includes jobs in restaurants, bars, hotels, theaters, museums and other attractions. Jobs in hotels, restaurants and the like are important to the health of our economy and are closely related to the tourism industry, which in turn helps support those and other businesses. But they do not pay wages comparable with skilled vocational and career-oriented fields that provide a solid middle-class living.

Two other fast-growing sectors, transportation and professional services, pay much better, but jobs are fewer in number than those in low-skill service jobs.

In addition, many people who finally found work after losing their jobs because of the economy have had to take jobs that pay far less than their previous work. That means many are worse off than before, and their spending habits will reflect that. There are still three unemployed North Carolinians for every available job, and in many cases the skill sets do not match.

Businesses naturally have an obligation to keep costs, including personnel costs, in line. They’ve had it rough, too

So it’s really a mixed bag for those still in the labor force. Economic growth is occurring, but North Carolina came out of the gate much slower than in previous recoveries. Workers are living in an environment of wage stagnation or reduced wages as well as proliferation of part-time employment.